"My life has been a disaster."
That's what 37-year-old Michelle Bennett, who was kidnapped, shot, and left for dead in the desert near Apache Junction in January of 1999 told reporters at a press conference at Phoenix Police Headquarters this afternoon.
As we reported earlier, the man police believe attacked Bennett was arrested yesterday -- 11 years after the incident.
Phoenix police say they matched the DNA of 38-year-old Clayton Roinuse to DNA recovered from the crime scene on January 6, 1999.
What Phoenix police seemed slightly less-inclined to discuss with reporters is that Roinuse has been sitting in an Arizona prison since 2003 -- for crimes similar to the ones alleged against Bennett -- and so has his DNA.
Prison inmates are required to give a DNA sample to authorities when
they're incarcerated. That DNA is then put into a database. In other
words, law enforcement's had Roinuse's DNA in a database
for years, but nobody checked that database against DNA recovered at
the crime scene until now.
We asked Phoenix Sergeant Steve Martos why it took so long to make the
connection between Roinuse's DNA and
the DNA recovered from the attack on Bennett. He says he's not sure
what, exactly, was the hold up on this case. But, he says, in the last
18 months the Phoenix Police Department has revamped its cold case
squad.
He says the new additions include increased personnel and access to
better technology, which have helped detectives track down suspects
years after they commit a crime.
It seems to be working -- since April, the Phoenix Police Department has
arrested suspects in several cold cases, including the April
arrest of a suspect in a murder that happened in 1994, and two suspects
in a 2005 homicide. Read about those cases here and here.
In August, the Phoenix P.D. also assisted the Tempe Police Department in
tracking down a suspect in the 1970 murder of a 4-year-old girl. Read
about that here.
As for Bennett's case: better late than never.
Roinuse is currently serving a life sentence. Bennett says she knows he
can't possibly face any additional time for what he allegedly did to
her, but says it's a relief to know they found the person who may have
attacked her.
In her attack, she says, she suffered a partial stroke and paralysis
from when a bullet allegedly fired by Roinuse grazed her head. Her wrist
was shattered when she put her hands in front of her face to block the
bullet.
Her speech is slightly irregular because of her injuries, and she
arrived to the press conference in wheel chair, which she says she only
uses occasionally. But she says she's still tough, and wants Roinuse to
know it.
"I'm still here," she wants Roinuse to know. "He may have killed my spirit a little."
She says she intends to attend Roinuse's court appearances. She wants
the "satisfaction" of standing up in front of him and saying "I'm still
here."
